Forever Words by Cash, Johnny; Muldoon, Paul;

Long description:

These never-before-published poems by Johnny Cash make the perfect gifts for music lovers and fans alike. Edited and introduced by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon with a foreword by John Carter Cash, this poetry collection is illustrated with facsimile reproductions of Cash s own handwritten pages. Now an album with music by Rosanne Cash, Brad Paisley, Willie Nelson, Kacey Musgraves, Elvis Costello, and more. 

Since his first recordings in 1955, Johnny Cash has been an icon in the music world. In this collection of poems and song lyrics that have never been published before, we see the world through his eyes and view his reflection on his own interior reality, his frailties and his strengths alike. In his hallmark voice, he pens verses about love, pain, freedom, and mortality, and expresses insights on culture, his family, his fame, even Christmas. Forever Words confirms Johnny Cash as a brilliant and singular American literary figure. His music is a part of our collective history, and here the depth of his artistry and talent become even more evident.

The Man in Black was also an incredibly productive poet who was just as happy to let his pen do the talking .Love, mortality, addiction, humor, spirituality, pain, wonder, hope, heartbreak, freedom and resignation all weave in and out of Cash's poetry just as they did in his songs in an attempt to paint the most accurate portrait of his true self.
Will Hodge, Rollingstone.com

In some ways the poems mirror Cash s songwriting, with terse ballads of outsiders in love, and parables drawn from the Bible yet another look at a legend of American music.
Ben Sisario, The New York Times

In retrospect, we should have assumed that outlaw country musician Johnny Cash was leading a double life as a secret poet.
Dennis DiClaudio, The A.V. Club